1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tape measures and, more particularly, to a tape measure having a finger protection function which has at least one roller in a front surface of a housing, so that a user grips the housing such that his/her index finger is seated in a finger seat formed in the housing and the user moves the housing along a front edge of an object to be measured such that the roller is in contact with the front edge of the object, thus ensuring smooth movement of the housing and safety of the user's finger.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, tape measures include a tape which is coupled to a spring in a housing and is wound around a bobbin in a coil shape, and an end hook which is coupled to an end of the tape and exposed to the outside through a tape extraction hole which is formed in a lower end of a front surface of the housing. Thus, when a user grips the end hook and pulls it outwards, the tape is extracted to the outside of the housing. In the above state, if the user releases the end hook, the tape, which was extracted, is retracted into the housing by the elasticity of the spring.
Some tape measures further include a tape locking means which prevents a tape, extracted outside a housing, from being completely retracted into the housing by the elasticity of a spring even when extracting tension applied to an end hook is discontinued.
In conventional tape measures having the above-mentioned construction, a housing has a circular or rectangular shape and a size appropriate for a user to grip the housing with one hand. To use a tape measure, the user grips a grip, which is provided around the outside surface of the housing, using his/her palm and fingers, and controls a tape locking means of the housing using the thumb to adjust the length of the tape extracted to the outside of the housing through a tape extraction hole.
Such a conventional tape measure has a basic function of measuring the length of a desired portion of an object, and, in addition, the tape measure may be used as a subsidiary means for cutting an object or drawing a line on the object while working.
Furthermore, according to the individual preferences or habits of various users using the tape measure, there are a variety of methods to measure the length of a desired portion of the object or mark the measured length on the object. Representative example of the usage of the tape measure follows.
First, to measure the length of a desired portion of an object to be measure, a user grips the grip of the housing of the tape measure with one hand and holds the end hook with the other hand and pulls the end hook outwards to extract the tape to an appropriate length. Subsequently, the user hooks the end hook to a predetermined portion of the object and reads a numeral, written on a part of the tape corresponding to a desired position on the object to be measured, thus measuring the length of the desired portion of the object to be measured.
To measure the length of a desired portion of the object and simultaneously draw a line corresponding to the measured length on the object, the user places the thumb and index finger of the hand gripping the grip of the housing in front of the tape extraction hole, that is, between the tape extraction hole and a facing edge of the object, in order to hold the tape using the thumb and index finger. Thereafter, a separate marking means (a pen or a cutter, etc.) is brought into close contact with the outer surface of the end hook, and then, the user moves the marking means on the object in a direction perpendicular to the tape while moving the housing along the facing edge of the object.
Here, the reason for moving the thumb and index finger of the hand gripping the housing and the reason for holding the tape with the thumb and index finger is that when the index finger is in close contact with the facing edge of the object during the line marking operation, the housing is prevented from undesirably moving and the extracted length of the tape is maintained. As a result, precise line marking can be conducted.
However, in such a method of drawing a line corresponding to the measured length on the object or cutting the object, the index finger of the user is in close contact with the facing edge of the object and moves along the facing edge. Therefore, if the facing edge of the object is rough, in particular, in the case of the object made of wood, the index finger may be injured by a sliver protruding from the facing edge of the object.
In an effort to overcome the problems with conventional tape measures, a tape measure having a marking gauge that is removably provided between a tape extraction hole formed in the front surface of a housing and an end hook provided on the extracted end of a tape and slides along the tape, was proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,050. However, the purpose of the marking gauge of the tape measure, which slides along the tape between the tape extraction hole of the housing and the end hook provided on the end of the tape, is to improve a marking ability of a user rather than to protect a user's finger. Therefore, the tape measure of U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,050 cannot achieve the fundamental purpose of protecting the user's finger.
Furthermore, because the marking gauge is easily removed from the tape, there is a problem in that the marking gauge may become lost.
In addition, only the end hook, which is bent downwards in an L-shape, is provided on the extracted end of the tape which is extracted outside the housing through the tape extraction hole. Therefore, to measure the length of a desired portion of an object and, thereafter, mark the measured length on the object with a marking means, a user must grip the housing with one hand and hold both the marking means and the end hook with the other hand. As such, because the marking means is not firmly fastened to the end hook, the marking operation is difficult.
To solve the above-mentioned problems, other tape measures were proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,691,425 and 6,691,426. These tape measures each have a separate hook, which includes a horizontal plate and a vertical plate that are perpendicular to each other and are integrated into a single body, to replace a typical end hook having the L-shape. These tape measures are manufactured merely by partially modifying the structure of end hooks provided on the extracted end of the tape of tape measures of the prior art. To use these tape measures, a user holds both a pen or cutter and the vertical plate, which perpendicularly extends from the horizontal plate coupled to the end of the tape, and then, the user marks a line on an object.
When it is desired to mark a line on the object, the extracted tape is locked by a tape lock provided on the front surface of the housing, and the front end of the housing having the tape extraction hole is brought into close contact with a facing edge of the object. However, in such a method of marking a line, there is difficulty in maintaining a constant measured length while marking the line. Furthermore, the tape may undesirably bend when the housing is moved along the edge of the object. These problems make it difficult to draw a straight line.